Samuele Ricci to Liverpool has never been more ON

Liverpool have their chance to sign Samuele Ricci and effective confirmation that a move can happen.

Anfield Watch exclusively reported last month that Liverpool have their eyes on Samuele Ricci. The Torino midfielder is one of the brightest young prospects in Italy.

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On top of that, everyone knows full well that Liverpool are in the market for a holding midfielder. Or at least, they were.

The chase for Martin Zubimendi ended in failure and the Reds felt Ricci was just too expensive for his level of experience in the summer. Since then, Ricci has grown his reputation further, while Ryan Gravenberch has proven himself to be an elite holding midfielder.

It leaves Liverpool in a different situation. Suddenly, the less-experienced Ricci could be the player they need.

After all, should Gravenberch be replaced by someone like Zubimendi? There's no great need to spend £51m to do that, while bringing in a young player to rival him for the role arguably feels more appealing.

And the chance to get Ricci is very much there.

Samuele Ricci strikes new deal

Torino announced on Thursday that Ricci has agreed to a new deal with the club. He's now tied down until 2028, rather than 2026 as per his previous contract.

Now, on the face of it, this looks bad but we believe this is merely a sign that Ricci is absolutely up for sale. There's no reason for Ricci to sign a new contract right now unless it comes with assurances that he can depart.

After all, he'd be set for some massive offers in the summer with just one year left on his deal. It makes this reminiscent of Alexis Mac Allister signing a new contract with Brighton in October 2022, knowing full well he would leave for a fee in 2023.

That was slightly different - Mac Allister was out of contract in 2023 and could have left for free - but the idea is the same. Ricci gets more money from Torino over the next six months, while the club are guaranteed negotiating power.

If Torino didn't intend to sell, we don't believe Ricci would sign a new contract. He'd stand to lose out on a major transfer and a lot of potential money.

Liverpool still very much have their chance to sign him and a deal has never looked more on.

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